


Something Short and Witty

by leonheart2012



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: 'Julia' is Juvia, Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Child Abuse, F/M, Fluff, High School AU, Human Happy - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Julia and Mavis are Gajeel's Sisters, Levy and Lucy are Sisters, slow burn?, teenage relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-10-31 11:23:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17848517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonheart2012/pseuds/leonheart2012
Summary: Levy, a student in high school, just can't seem to please her parents. Gajeel is the guy who sits at the back of class and gets bad grades. They're from different worlds, never meant to collide...right?





	1. Meeting You (The Best Thing I'll Ever Do)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I know I have a bunch of other fics I'm halfway through writing at the moment (I'm sorry) but I was re-watching Fairy Tail, and I was reminded of how goddamned much I loved this pairing. So...here we are. There will be more chapters coming soon, I promise :)  
> Hope you all enjoy this one!

I looked down at the paper and sighed; another A minus. Mum would pout, dad would do his whole ‘disappointed scowl’, and there would be no conversation at the dinner table. Again.

“What did you get, Levy?” Jet asked, peering over my shoulder.

I plastered on a smile. “An A minus. What about you?”

“Man, you’re always getting good grades! I only got a C plus.” He looked dejected. “After all that study!”

“Well, you’re still improving. Maybe I can take a look at it, and we can go over what you did wrong?”

“Tch!” The noise brought everyone’s attention. Well, everyone within earshot. The kid who usually sat at the back of the class was standing over his desk, gripping his grade sheet so hard it crumpled. “Whatever. Just some dumb test.”

He always acted so nonchalant, but I could tell that it bothered him, that he never could get good grades. My eyes must have lingered, because Jet stepped in front of him.

“You shouldn’t worry about him, Levy. He’s just some loser.”

I frowned. “Maybe...” But I couldn’t stop my mind from straying to him.

His name was Gajeel. He always wore black; black shirt, black jacket, black shoes, black pants. His hair was black, too, though I suspect he dyed it. His eyes were a deep brown, his nose sharp and pierced. He was always getting into trouble and always seemed to be slacking off.

Sighing, I turned my attention back to my own problems. Maybe Jet was right; I had enough to worry about without adding his to my pile. Mum and dad had never approved of anything I had ever done. Or, if they had, I didn’t remember. It seemed that all their attention was now focused on my little sister, Lucy. She was the figurine of the perfect child; long, straight, perfect blonde hair, big brown eyes and a cute face. Of course, dad still paid little attention to her, but mum was all over her, constantly.

I still loved Lucy; she was good to me, kind even when she knew she didn’t have to be. I was grateful that mum and dad hadn’t poisoned her through their spoiling of her. Even though she knew she could get almost anything she wanted, she rarely asked for anything. She shared her things with me and even invited me to hang out with her friends sometimes.

And how wonderful her friends were! Natsu, the youngest of the group, was very energetic, always ready to prove that he was the best at everything. He had a little brother, nicknamed ‘Happy’. I don’t think anyone actually knew his real name. Gray was the next oldest, and he was constantly working out, even when he was eating or doing his homework. The sheen of sweat he maintained on his usually bare upper body was near-permanent. Finally, there was Erza, the red-headed beauty that had men falling over her constantly. She, of course, was oblivious to it all. She was very smart, the top of her class, and was also the fittest of her year group. One look from her could make you shiver, but she had a heart of gold.

I was lucky that they included me sometimes.

But, back to the matter at hand. I looked over the test, and saw the few marks that brought my grade down. Lowering my head, I sighed; there was no helping it. Even if I asked for a recount, the mistakes would still be there.

Droy came over now, concerned expression on his face. “Everything okay, Levy? Did you get a bad grade?”

I looked up and smiled at him. “No, I got a good grade. Just wondering how I’ve done on my other tests. I hope I did as well on all of them.”

_I should have done better._

 

It was well after school’s end, but Lucy hadn’t finished with her drama club yet, so I was forced to stay in the library. I looked over my results, my stomach squirming. I couldn’t concentrate on my homework, not with this dread coiling in my intestine.

Two A minuses, one A plus, two straight As and two B pluses. Nowhere near good enough. This brought my grade point average to three point eight-seven. Barely better than my three point eight last semester. I buried my face in my hands. How would I ever get good enough? What would it take for them to be proud of me?

A chair at my table slid out, startling me. No one else was ever around at this time. I looked up and saw him; Gajeel. Up close, he was even more intimidating. His eyes were angry, his face harsh, his demeanour cold and closed-off. He reached over and took my report card from me.

“Hey! That’s-”

He slid it back over. “What are you crying about? Those are good grades.” He said gruffly, leaning back in his chair.

“They...” I was stunned. I would never have thought that Gajeel would come and talk to me, of all people. “My...my parents...”

“Screw them.” He said with a shrug of his massive shoulders. “Are _you_ happy with your marks?”

“I...I suppose they could be a little better...”

He sighed and sat back even further, tilting the chair so it rested only on its two back legs.

“What about you? Are you happy with your grades?”

His eyes were suddenly boring into me, and I felt them like laser beams. I swallowed, watching with fear as he reached into his leather jacket’s inner pocket, expecting a gun, a knife, heck, maybe even a fork, but all he pulled out was a piece of paper, which he shoved at me. I took it with shaking fingers. It was his own report card. I winced.

English, D minus, a fail.

Maths A, C minus, barely a pass.

Chemistry, D plus, barely pushing it.

History, C minus, a pass, but ouch.

American Government, another D plus.

Physical Education was a little bit better at a B minus.

But the most surprising was French, at a straight B.

I did the calculations really quickly in my head. One point seven-five. “This...isn’t looking too good.” I tried to say it kindly, but his face dropped.

“I know.” He snapped, snatching it back. “I was hoping you would help me. I just don’t really get any of it.”

“You seem to get French?”

He shrugged. “French is easy.” He blushed. “French makes sense, even with all the weird genders and stuff. But I don’t know anything about maths, and history is just hard.”

“I guess...I could tutor you.”

A small smile flew across his face, lasting only a split second before he got himself back under control. “What do you want in return, shrimp?”

“For you to call me Levy. And...a ride home?”

He raised his eyebrow, but nodded, standing and waiting beside me. It took me a moment to realise he was waiting for me to stand, too. I swallowed, wondering just what I’d gotten myself into. What would mum say when I came home early, and without Lucy? What would she think of seeing me with Gajeel? Did he even have a car, or was he just going to walk me home? What if he had a motorcycle? I wasn’t dressed for a ride on a motorcycle.

Gajeel’s hand descended on my shoulder, startling me from my thoughts. “Stop thinking. I have a helmet and a jacket for you too.”

“But I’m wearing a skirt!”

Gajeel shrugged, not stopping. “Then wear jeans tomorrow.”

 _Tomorrow? He’s thinking of making this a regular thing?_ I caught up with him, and tugged on his arm. He looked down at me, expression carefully blank. “I have to tell my sister. I was waiting for her to finish drama. She’s behind this door, right here.”

Gajeel looked up, eyes boring through the door, but eventually shrugged. “Do what you need to do.” He leaned against the row of lockers. “Just don’t take too long.”

I ducked into the drama room and caught Lucy’s eye. She hurried over to me.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m just going home with a friend. And...uh...can we go shopping on Saturday? I need a few things.”

Lucy got a strange look on her face. “Oh, so it’s a _boy_ , is it?”

“What?” I felt my face heat. “N...no! Well, yes, but...it’s not like that!”

Lucy laughed lightly, and I envied her carefree nature. “It’s alright. I’ll ask mum for some shopping money.”

“Thanks.” I waved Lucy goodbye and exited back the way I’d come. I was almost surprised to see Gajeel still standing there, waiting for me.

“So,” he said, levering himself away from the wall, “we ready to go?”

I nodded, and we walked out through the front doors together. I saw his bike immediately. It, like Gajeel himself, was all black leather and paint. Sure enough, there was a black leather jacket and black helmet hung over the exhaust pipe, as if waiting for me. I looked up at Gajeel, but his face gave nothing away.

“You ready?”

Unsure, I edged closer to the bike and took a hold of the jacket. It was stiff in my hands, and I realised it was specially designed to be used on a motorbike. I slipped it over my shoulders, and was surprised by how well it fit.

“It was my little sister, Julia’s. She out-grew it, so you can keep it, if you want.”

My face heated again. How did people not see how gentle he was? How did _I_ not see it?

Gajeel turned and looked at me, his own helmet in hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall off. And, if you’re really uncomfortable, I’ll go slow.” He pulled his helmet over his head and straddled the bike, but didn’t turn the key yet.

Heart pounding, I zipped up the jacket and grabbed the helmet, fastening it under my chin. My head felt at least three times heavier, but I supposed that was for the best.

“Alright,” Gajeel said, his voice muffled through both helmets. “Get on behind me and hold on tight.”

“Hold on to what?” I yelled back at him.

“Me.”

 

The rumble of the bike beneath us was not as scary as I’d thought it would be. It was only halfway into the ride that I realised I hadn’t even told him my address, and even later that I realised we weren’t heading in the right direction to get to my house. It was too late to ask, though; the wind and bike made too much noise.

My arms were clutching Gajeel’s waist. At the start of our trip, they’d been stiff and unyielding, but as the time passed, I relaxed into it, getting the feel of going around corners and stopping at traffic lights.

When Gajeel next stopped, I threw caution to the wind.

“Go faster!” I yelled, hoping he would hear me.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Go faster!”

My hands felt the rumble of his chest as he chuckled and, when the light turned green, we lunged into motion, the engine now roaring. I whooped in delight. I’d never been on anything that went this fast!

We reached our destination too quickly. It turned out to be a small but popular diner just off the main street. Gajeel took off his helmet and turned to walk in, but stopped when he saw me hesitate.

“What?” He looked in through the window of the diner. “Not your thing? We can go-”

“I...I should get home.” His face went blank again, and I scrambled to think of some way to fix it, getting off the bike and waving my hands around like an idiot. “It’s not that I don’t-”

“It’s fine. I get it. It’s late.”

“Maybe tomorrow?”

Gajeel searched my face through the visor for a moment, then grunted, lifting me up and placing me back on the bike. “Whatever.”

 

As we got closer and closer to my house, my insides started jumbling up again. I wished Gajeel would slow down...or maybe I wanted him to go faster, overshoot my place and keep on going forever. I would never have to look at my parents’ disappointed faces ever again, never have to worry about whether they would approve of me and my choices.

My arms tightened around his waist, and I felt tears prick at the back of my eyes, the lump in my throat making it hard to breathe. It had been a long time since I’d cried over my parents. I asked myself why I was holding back; no one would know if I started crying now. So, I let go, making sure to stay quiet, in case Gajeel heard me. I didn’t want to have to explain why I was crying; it would sound stupid next to his problems, whatever they were.

I wanted so desperately to leave them, or please them or do _something_ , _anything_ that would make them react. Maybe Gajeel was just part of that. _Would_ they react if they saw me get off his bike? Would they even notice?

The bike stopped, and I opened my eyes, surprised to find that I couldn’t see through the thick condensation that had gathered on the inside of the visor.

Gajeel looked up at my house. I knew it was bigger than most of my friends’ houses, but I’d never really thought about _how much_ bigger until I saw Gajeel sitting there, speechless. “I never knew you were rich.” He breathed.

“I’m not.” I said, taking off my helmet. “My parents are.” I handed him the helmet, and he tucked it away in the compartment I’d been sitting on.

I stood there, feeling awkward, not knowing what else to do or say. Gajeel cleared his throat, apparently feeling just as awkward. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. And keep good care of that jacket.” He wheeled himself backwards down the driveway. “Have a good night!” He called up to me before taking off again.

I watched his taillights disappear into the black night. “You too.”

 

As it turned out, my parents hadn’t been home when I came back, so I had had a shower and settled down, doing my homework before falling asleep, all before they got back.

Lucy crawled into my room at one AM and shook me awake.

“Wha...what’s going on?”

It was dark, and I couldn’t see anything, but Lucy had the tone of voice that indicated she would have a giddy smile on her face. “So...tell me how it was.”

“How what was?”

“Your date, of course!” She whispered, nudging me. “You’ve got to tell me everything.”

“Nothing happened, Lu. He took me home. I’m going to be tutoring him, and him taking me home is how he’s paying me back.”

“Sure.” Her ‘sceptical’ face. A sigh. “Well, is he at least cute?”

I thought about that for a second. “Not...really? I guess you’d probably consider him hot, but...well, he’s not really... _conventional_.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Confusion.

I frowned, sitting up. “He’s…handsome. You know, strong face, nice body...” My cheeks heated. “Not that I’m interested in him. I’m just tutoring him.”

“Uh-huh. And what are we going shopping for?”

“Some jeans. He has a bike and-”

Lucy almost squealed, which would have woken up the whole household. “A _motor_ bike? Oh, Levy, you’re so lucky! You got to cuddle up nice and close with him...how was it?”

I sighed, knowing that she would just keep pestering me for an answer. “It was...nice. Kinda scary at first, but it...I felt safe with him, you know? He knew what he was doing.”

Lucy snuggled up close to me. “I knew you would find someone before me. I hope he treats you well, Levy. You’re totally worth it.”

“Thanks, Lu. You want to sleep here?”

“Nah, I’ll go back to my room.” She kissed my cheek. “Good night.”

Lucy didn’t have red-taillights, but it felt exactly the same as she was swallowed up by the silence of the house. “You too.”

 

I stuffed the jacket into the bottom of my bag before anyone could see it. If mum and dad didn’t know about Gajeel yet, I was hardly going to provoke them by leaving evidence of him lying around. The end result, however, was that my backpack bulged dangerously, and my books almost didn’t fit.

Lucy smiled at me lecherously over the table at breakfast, and I wished that we were within walking distance of school so that I could leave her behind.

As soon as we got to the gates, I was out of the car, and up the stairs. I almost missed the ‘have a nice day!’ that was called from the front seat by our driver, Macao.

I had taken Gajeel’s advice and worn jeans today. It surprised me just how much I was looking forward to seeing him again. His usual seat, however, was empty. I looked around...and saw him sitting at the front of he class, glasses on, his usual black leather jacket draped over the back of his chair, a navy blue v-neck in place of his usual death-metal band merch, and dark blue jeans instead of his usual black ones. His hair was...somewhat tamed in a messy ponytail and his expression was thunderous.

I slid hesitantly into the seat next to his.

“Hi, Gajeel...” I ventured, but he barely reacted.

As class proceeded, I realised that his look wasn’t thunderous, but was just a look of concentration. When it hit me, I struggled to hold back my laughter. In truth, he looked ridiculous. Gajeel was usually the brooding shadow at the back of the class and, while I appreciated the effort, anything else just wasn’t... _him_.

He found me at lunch, but backed away when he saw I was with Jet and Droy. I felt my heart sink, then immediately questioned myself. Why was I feeling this way? I didn’t even know him!

I shook my head and continued to eat lunch with my friends - the people I'd known since kindergarten.

 

The library was about to close. It was getting late again, and I hadn’t seen Gajeel anywhere. I’d taken care to sit in the same spot as yesterday, but I worried he wouldn’t be able to find me. Maybe he didn’t want me to tutor him after all? Perhaps he’d found someone else? Someone better?

Dispair settled over me. It was inevitable. Maybe he’d found Erza and decided to go with her. After all, she was much prettier than me and – why did that even matter? I let my head fall to the table and moaned in frustration.

Gajeel’s hand descended onto my shoulder. _How do I know it’s his from just a few touches?_ I looked up, happy. He looked sheepish.

“Sorry I was late. Got caught up in...something.” He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” I grabbed my backpack and followed him out to the parking lot. He paused by the drama door, but I tugged him onward. “It’s piano day today. Besides, I told her you were going to be picking me up again already.”

“You...you did?”

“Well, yeah. I’m supposed to be tutoring you, remember? So, let’s go and have dinner and I’ll-” I realised Gajeel was no longer with me. “Gajeel?” I walked back to his side. He was looking down at the floor.

“I...I don’t have enough money to go to the places you would normally go to.”

I looked away. “I don’t. I don’t go anywhere. Even if my parents are going out, they only take Lucy. So...I mean, I still eat well. Max is a good chef.”

“See what I mean? You even have your own chef.”

“Gajeel, whatever you think my life is like...with servants and stuff...well, it’s not. It’s not as glamorous as you think it is, with ball gowns and clothes that cost hundreds of dollars...paparazzi and...and...”

“So what _is_ it like?”

“...Lonely. No one in this school is even close to being as rich as my family, but I still get hand-me-downs.” I laughed bitterly. “Hand-me-ups more like. Almost everything I’m wearing, Lucy wore it first. Sure, she often buys things for me, but she always has to wear it first and claim she doesn’t like it, or it doesn’t fit, just so my parents can think that...well, I don’t even know. That I’m lesser than her. I get better grades, but they never appreciate it. It’s never good enough.” My cheeks were wet. I hadn’t even realised until then. “That jacket you gave me is the first thing I’ve ever owned that she has never touched. Well, the first thing I’ve known that she hasn’t touched. And, in order to avoid questions, I shoved it into the bottom of my backpack.”

I took it off now, and ripped it open, pulling the poor thing from the depths, spilling my books all over the floor. “This...is possibly the most wonderful thing I’ve ever owned, and I was forced to hide it, forced to push away my happiness...for theirs.” I sank to my knees, not caring anymore what Gajeel thought of my outburst, not caring that I was ugly-crying, not caring that I was probably making a fool of myself. “I hate them. I hate them so much.”

Gajeel’s hand found my shoulder, and he lifted me to my feet. He picked up my books, shoving them back into my backpack and handing it back to me, all with a blank face. Finally, he picked up the jacket, draped it over my shoulders, and led me out to the front of the school, where his bike was waiting.

He got his own helmet on, then handed me mine, straddling the bike like he had the previous day. Sighing, I hopped on behind him, fully expecting him to just drop me home, but he took me to the mall instead.

I looked up at him questioningly, but he said nothing, so I followed him inside.

“What’s your favourite colour?” He asked suddenly, his voice startling me.

“Uh...like a...yellow-orange, I guess. Why?”

He didn’t answer, just led me into a store and went looking through the sections for...well, I didn’t know what. He stopped, looked through the hangars, and held something out, shook his head, then moved on. After a few more instances of this, he smiled at one piece of clothing. He held it out to me.

“What do you think?”

“Uh...” I blinked at it. It was a cute little top, yellow at the neck and fading to a sunset orange, with a form-fitting fabric, short sleeves and a partially open back. “It’s...a little small for you...don’t you think?”

He laughed. “It’s for you.”

My face heated as blood rushed to it. “What? F...for me?”

“Yeah. You said you’d never truly owned anything before, so...” He held it out to me again. “What do you think?”

“It’s lovely, but...can you even afford this? This isn’t exactly a cheap shop.”

He looked annoyed for a second, but forcefully erased it. “I’ll be fine. But if you think you’d prefer something else...”

I swallowed. It was true that I’d never owned something like this before, and it _was_ a nice top, but...my eyes drifted to the price tag and I nearly fainted. _Nearly sixty-eight dollars!_ “I think I’d like to try something else. But I’ll help you look this time.”

He nodded, and we split up, looking through the store...when I saw it. It was absolutely perfect. It was modest, with long, flared sleeves, a deep v-neck, and a slightly tilted cut at the bottom. I felt the fabric, and it was so soft, it felt like it was barely there. It had a few red gemstones sewn into the hems, spaced evenly, perfectly accentuating the yellow of the shirt.

Reluctantly, I let my eyes wander to the price tag. _Sixty-three ninety-four_. I winced. Of course something this lovely would be so expensive. Maybe when I came back with Lucy, we could-

“Wow.”

 _Oh no_. I turned to see Gajeel gazing up at the shirt, and felt my heart sink. There was no way I would let him buy this for me. “Gajeel, you really don’t have to-”

“At least try it on?”

My heart began to pound. _No, no, no_. If I put it on, I would never want to take it off. If I put it on...no. I couldn’t. “Gajeel…”

He reached over my head and took it down from the rack. “What size are you?”

“Gajeel, no, please. You really don’t-”

“What size?”

I turned away from him. “Ten.”

“Heh. I knew you’d be tiny.” He picked a ten off the rack and pulled me over to the changing rooms.

With shaking hands, I took the shirt from him and walked into one of the stalls, closing it behind me. I took a moment to just look at the top, as if trying to convince myself that it really was worth it. The red gemstones winked at me seductively in the dim light. My heart was racing, a rabbit fleeing from a predator. But why was I so afraid? It was just a piece of fabric.

I reached out, and brushed my fingertips over it, reminding myself of how soft it was. Snatching my hand back, I took in a shuddering breath. _No._ I couldn’t do it. We barely knew each other, and _I_ didn’t have the money for it. I couldn’t ask...but I hadn’t asked. My heart pounded even faster. Maybe he did like me...did I like him?

I shook my head. Now was not the time to be thinking about that. Gajeel was waiting...for me.

I took my own shirt off, then stared, mesmerised, at the shirt for another minute. Finally, taking a deep breath, I took it off the hanger and eased it over my head, wary of ripping it. It felt so delicate…

I looked at myself in the mirror and stifled a gasp. I looked beautiful. The yellow was the perfect colour for my skin tone, the gemstones winking with the same light in my eyes. The blue streaks of my hair that I’d used as a tool of rebellion last month perfectly offset the colour of the fabric, which hugged all the right places and hung loose in others.

Unable to deny Gajeel this vision, I stepped through the curtain.

His mouth fell open, and he stood up from where he’d been sitting. “Levy...” It was the first time he’d ever spoken my name. “You look...” He blinked, then turned away, as if he was seeing something sinful. “Take it off, I’m buying it, no matter how much it is.”

“But, Gajeel, it’s-”

“I don’t care.”

I sighed. He was so much like Lucy; stubborn to the last. I slipped back into the changing room and thought about how I could save him from himself. I was almost disappointed when I realised I didn’t want to.

I took the shirt off and replaced it on the hanger, handing it back to him before pulling my own shirt back over my head.

As I stepped back out and saw Gajeel waiting for me, I felt a thrill go through me. I was rebelling. I was with someone they would never approve of, buying something for myself. Not a birthday had gone by where I had gotten anything I’d wanted, forced to watch as Lucy opened a gift on my birthday, as if they’d given birth to her twice. This was like getting a hundred birthdays all at once, but they were for only me. I suppressed the desire to laugh.

I followed Gajeel back through the store to the checkout. The lady behind the register smiled brightly at us.

“You’re such a cute couple! How long have you been dating?”

Gajeel started to deny it, but I gripped his hand, “Just a few weeks. This is actually only our second date.”

She smiled even wider. “That’s so sweet!” She rung up our order and bagged it for us. “Hope you have a good night!”

“You too.” I called back, waving. When we were outside the store, Gajeel stopped and peered down at me.

“Why did you say we were dating?”

My cheeks heated. “It would have looked weird if we’d said no.”

He shrugged. “What does it matter? Maybe you’re my little sister, and I wanted to get something nice for you. Or maybe we’re friends, and it’s your birthday.”

I could feel my face getting redder. “It...I...I’m sorry, I didn’t...” I looked up at him, and saw the faint smile on his face. I couldn't stop myself from blurting the next question. It just exploded from some hidden part of me. “Do you have a girlfriend?” The smile disappeared.

“No. Do you?”

“No! I’m not into girls like that.”

“What about a boyfriend?”

“No. You?”

“No.”

We stood, awkwardly looking at each other for another minute. Gajeel smiled again. “Do you wanna change?” He pointed over to the public toilets. “No point in buying something this nice if you’re not going to wear it.”

I had to concede that point, so I took the bag from him and went to the restrooms.

When I emerged, Gajeel was speechless again. I smiled at him. “You hungry?”

He nodded dumbly. My smile grew wider as I led him to the food court. I may not have had sixty dollars, but I had enough to get us some fast food of some description. Gajeel followed me closely, acting like a lost puppy.

 

We were halfway through our meal when he spoke again. “Why?”

I looked up, surprised. “What are you talking about?”

“Why don’t they want you to have anything of your own?”

“Oh.” I dropped my fork into the Chinese container. “I wish I knew. I try my best, do everything I can, but they still just ignore me.” I shrugged. “Maybe they wanted a son. Maybe they wanted someone more confident, bigger, stronger...who knows? I never asked. Besides, even if I did, I don’t think they’d answer me.”

I sighed. “Dad...dad would never have paid attention to either of us. Too busy. But mum would have had the time for both of us...if she cared.” I took a long, shaky breath in, trying to even them out. “Someday, they’re going to want me to marry someone. Probably for money, but who knows. It’ll probably just be unbearable to them if they have a daughter running rampant in her mid-twenties. I wish I could run away. Leave them all behind.”

“They’re your family, though.”

“I’d rather have no family than have a family that just ignores me.” I looked up at him to see his harsh face with an equally harsh expression. “What about your family?”

Gajeel shrugged. “There’s mum and dad, then me, then Julia, then Mavis. Mavis is sick all the time, so mum has to stay with her, but other than that, we’re your average family.”

“Why is she sick all the time? If...if you don’t-”

“She was born three months early. The doctors told us she shouldn’t even be alive. She is getting stronger, but...they don’t hold out much hope for her. Her immune system is really weak. So she gets sick. We have to wash everything, like, three times before it comes into contact with her.”

“That sounds really rough.” I said, my mind spinning. _Three months! That’s impossible!_ “How old is she?”

“She’s three now. The doctors say that if she makes it to five, she’ll probably be okay. But she won’t have a normal life. She’ll be at risk of a lot more things than the rest of us.” He looked me in the eye, then – the one place he hadn’t looked through the whole conversation. “You really do look good like that, Levy.”

My face heated again. “Thanks...speaking of looking good, why did you change your look today?”

“Huh?” He looked down at himself, as if just noticing that it was different. “Oh, it’s Mavis’ birthday. She always says she hates the colour black, so on her birthday, I wear blue. Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s sweet.” I smiled at him. “What about the glasses?”

It was his turn to blush. “I...I figured if you were going to tutor me, I should at least pay more attention.” He fished around in his own backpack. He pulled out a tattered book and opened it to a page scrawled over with barely intelligible scribbles. “I took notes.”

I smiled, then started laughing.

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just...” I struggled to get myself under control. “It’s funny. That we’re both already changing. I’d have never gone against my family’s wishes int the way I did before meeting you. And now, you’re trying in class. I think, Gajeel Redfox, that you and I will have a good influence on each other.”


	2. Chapter 2

We idled outside my house for a good few minutes before I was ready to go in. Gajeel didn’t rush me, didn’t sigh impatiently or tap his feet. I was grateful to him for that.

My heart was pounding, my knees knocking together, my hands shaking as I handed him the helmet. He barely looked at me as he took it and stowed it away. I was grateful for that, too. I would have wanted him to spirit me away if he’d even glanced into my eyes, because I knew what I’d see there; an invitation.

It had been there as he’d handed me the helmet as we left the mall. It had been there as he watched me zip the jacket up over the beautiful shirt he’d bought me. It had been there as he’d told me to get on, to hold on to him, and it had been there, in his voice, as he’d asked me how fast I wanted to go.

All of me – every single ounce – had wanted to shout “ _Away, as far away as you can, as quickly as you can!”_ But I’d forced myself to answer rationally, telling him to go to my place, as fast as the wind could take us.

For the first few blocks, it had all whisked by. Then, I’d started to enjoy it again, feeling the wind whip past us, screaming in our ears at our defiance. “ _None can fly faster than me!”_ It had bellowed, and I had laughed in its face. Until we got to the familiar twists and turns...and then my house came into view. My heart had begun to thud, my palms had grown sweaty, my throat drying. I had clutched Gajeel just a little tighter, silently begging him to go past it, to keep going, keep going, _keep going_.

Panic was rising in my throat as I looked up at the huge facade. Gajeel’s hand came out of the darkness and squeezed mine. The panic died as I exhaled.

“Maybe I should give you my number. If anything happens, call me.” I was surprised, but handed over my phone. It was an old one with cracks that dissected the surface; Lucy had dropped it one too many times. I felt embarrassed until Gajeel pulled out his own phone.

It must have been at least fifteen years old; it had scratches and nicks all over it. Bite marks that looked like they came from a small dog, the casing thick and plastic. It was one of the ones where you had to tap a number three or even four times to get the letter you wanted.

My eyes flicked to his face, but there was no sign of embarrassment or shame. He didn’t mind having something so old. It struck me just how selfish I must have sounded to him. I felt my face flush and tears burn in my eyes. How could I complain about never owning anything when-

“Don’t do that.”

“What?” He still wasn’t looking at me.

“Don’t feel sorry for me, or feel bad about your own problems. They’re different from mine, but they’re still problems; as real to you as mine are to me.” He finally looked up at me, his face blank again, as he handed back my phone. “Remember; anything happens, call me.”

I slipped my phone back in my pocket and smiled at him. “Okay, well...I should go. Thank you, for tonight. I promise we’ll actually get to tutoring next time.”

A ghost of a smile slid over his face. I turned away, but didn’t hear his engine start until I was knocking on the door.

Lucy opened it, and she breathed out a sigh of relief, holding me close. “Quickly; go up and change. I’ll cover for you for a while so you have some time.”

“Thanks, Lu.”

“Go! Go!”

“Who was it?” Mum asked, and I ducked behind the couch, stealthily sneaking my way up the stairs to my room and throwing my jacket off, then slipping the shirt off and pulling an old one over my head. I made my way downstairs, rubbing at a patch of pretend dirt.

“Sorry I was late coming home; I started up this new fitness thing with my friends and fell in some dirt. I hope I got it all off. Do I look okay?”

Lucy did a very convincing check-over, and nodded firmly. “Looks all good. See, mum. I told you, it’s all fine.”

Mum glared at me, unconvinced, for a few seconds before sniffing and turning on her heel. “Whatever. Just make sure you do your homework and get to bed on time.”

I felt anger well up in my chest. How could she talk to me like that after everything she’d done? After all the disappointed looks when my report card came back less than perfect? She had no right-

“Hey, you alright?” Lucy’s voice soothed me, and I collapsed against her. She held me tight as she helped me up the stairs. After a few minutes of silence, she saw the jacket and shirt draped over the back of my chair. “Wow!” She said, and went over to the chair. “Did he get these for you?” She reached out, but I grabbed her hand before she could touch them. She looked shocked. “Levy?”

“Don’t. Don’t touch them. For once, let these be mine.”

Clearly hurt, she turned away from me. “Fine. If you’re going to be like that!”

I watched her go, regret but also triumph curling in my gut. There was no way I would let her touch these; they were too important. At the same time, she was my sister. I should let her at least look at them…

Sighing, I turned away from the door, as if that would somehow make her disappear from my thoughts. I pulled out my phone and called Gajeel.

He picked up instantly.

“Did something happen? Are you okay?” I was touched by the concern in his voice.

“No, I’m okay. I just wanted you to know.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, and I smiled.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Have a good night.” He hung up before I could say ‘you too’.

 

Gajeel was sitting back in his usual seat, but he still had the glasses on, his books out and ready to take notes. I smiled at him, but he didn’t return it. He was back to his ‘focused’ mode, and was trying his best to shut out everything but what the teacher was saying...or at least, that’s what I hoped he was doing.

I went to my own desk and tried to do the same. After all, I still needed to get my own grades up.

 

I had to wait until after school again to talk to him. He came to the library and waited as if expecting me to get up and leave with him, but I gestured to the chair next to me.

“Sit down. We’re actually going to study this time, remember?”

He sniffed, but did as I asked and slid the chair out, dropping himself into it and pulling out his books.

“So, what do you feel you need help with most? We’ll start there.”

Gajeel looked utterly helpless for a few seconds, panic flooding his eyes. “Uh...all of it?” He managed finally.

I chuckled. “Well, we can only do one thing at a time. Maybe we should look at English, since that’ll probably be the hardest to get the hang of.”

He raised his eyebrow. “You can’t be serious?”

“Well, maths is just a bunch of codes – basically – that, when you do it right, will net the perfect result. Chemistry is very similar, except you have to memorise more. English is more interpretation-based.”

He blinked at me. “I understood none of that.”

“Well, we’d better get started, then.”

 

Gajeel’s head thudded as it hit the desk. He looked up at me with sad eyes. “I’m hungry.”

I folded my arms. “Puppy dog eyes won’t get you anywhere with me. We still have Chemistry to get through.”

He groaned and lifted himself off the desk. “Can’t we just go to a restaurant somewhere and keep going while we eat? I haven’t had anything since midday.”

I wanted to insist, but him bringing up food reminded me of how hungry I was. I sighed and closed our books. “Fine. But we _are_ going to do more work while we’re there.” I handed him back his books then packed up mine, shrugging on my jacket before pulling my backpack over my shoulder. “You’re not getting out of it that easily.”

He grunted, but looked happy that I’d agreed. He led me, just as he had the past two times, through the school to the front gates, where his motorcycle was waiting. I opened the compartment with the helmet in it myself, and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.

I shrugged sheepishly. “What? I noticed how you did it the past few times...”

Shaking his head, he grabbed his own helmet and straddled the bike, waiting for me to get on behind him.

The rumble of the bike, now that I was used to it, was a comfort, as was his warmth, which seeped through his jacket and into my fingers, which were constantly cold in the roaring wind.

He stopped at a traffic light, extending his right leg, and I followed suit. When we took off again, he turned left, and I leaned with him and the bike, making the white line at the side of the road whizz by. I was almost tempted to reach out and touch it, but I knew how bad of an idea that was.

We were at our destination too soon; the same restaurant Gajeel had taken me to the first time. I looked up at it and actually took in the look of the place. We’d driven past it many times, but I’d never actually paid attention to it. It was just another building I would never get to enter. Now, I looked at it like it was a palace.

For a first-time restaurant-goer, it seemed like the perfect place; not too posh, with green and red trim, an Italian name and a cute caricature of a portly man holding a pitcher lit by flood lights above the door. In the window, there was a flashing red and blue neon sign that proclaimed it was open, and behind that, there were rows of tables and chairs, each fitted with a candle and a plaid tablecloth.

“Well? Coming?”

I blinked up at Gajeel, then nodded. As we walked in, I could smell tomato sauce and cheese – a delightful pairing – and saw a few couples already seated and enjoying meals and conversation. I had expected someone to turn and gape at us, for one reason or another, but they all just minded their own business, talking quietly amongst their own small parties. Even so, I stepped closer to Gajeel. It was strange, but I felt as though, if anything happened, he would keep me safe.

His eyes darted down to me, but he didn’t react as we stood, waiting for the one on-duty waiter to seat us.

“A party for two?”

Gajeel nodded, and the waiter led us to a small table by the back wall.

“Will this be alright?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” It shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did that Gajeel was short with the waiter. It seemed he was pretty short with everyone.

We sat down, and took a look at the menus. I’d eaten pretty much everything on the menu before, so I just went with what was probably the most popular; spaghetti bolognese. Gajeel got carbonara. As we waited for our meals, I took out my books again. Gajeel rolled his eyes.

“You just don’t stop, do you?”

“Well, we need to get through this. You know if we don’t, it’ll just pile up, right?”

“Yeah, but we could wait until _after_ dinner. You don’t need to rush it.”

I stared into his eyes for a few minutes. Finally, I looked away and sighed. “Fine. Food first. But we do have to do this.”

 

Having dinner with Gajeel was an amazing experience. He was not sophisticated in any way that I would consider normal, but he definitely gave it his best shot. The conversation was somewhat lacking, too; he wasn’t much of a talker. But his presence was quite possibly the best thing about the meal.

I had been schooled on dining etiquette, starting from when I was ten years old, but had never had an opportunity to use it. Even then, in that little restaurant, it wasn’t the time; there weren’t a plethora of forks, knives and spoons you had to know how to use properly, and there was only the one, huge plate piled high with pasta.

After trying and failing to eat cleanly, I followed Gajeel’s example and started slurping the pasta. It was the most fun I’d ever had.

Gajeel smiled at me as I wiped my face of pasta sauce. “All clean?” He leaned in closer to inspect my face, then nodded.

“All clean.” He confirmed.

“So...”

He groaned, but conceded. Our work was finished in no time.

“See?” I said as we left the restaurant. To my dismay, Gajeel had paid for both our meals, and had gripped my hand in payback when the waiter asked if we had had a good date. “That wasn’t so bad.”

“Are you talking to me, or to yourself?” He asked gruffly. When I turned to stare incredulously at him, he smiled lopsidedly. “You seemed pretty nervous going in.”

“Well, yeah! It was my first time...”

“First...” He looked back up at the facade of the building. “First date?”

“W...was it a date?”

He shrugged, then put his helmet on. “Whatever.” He zipped his jacket up and straddled his bike.

I sighed. When would I get a straight answer out of him? He took me home, speeding through the streets, earlier than the two nights previous. Getting off the bike, I stood awkwardly, still unsure what to do with myself. Would he want a hug? A kiss on the cheek? Were we even on the back end of a date?

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said, reversing from the driveway. “Have a good night.”

“You too!” I couldn’t be sure, but I thought he might have heard me that time.

 

Lucy was in my room when I got back. She stood as I entered.

“Mum was angry you weren’t home when we got back.” Her voice was cold, closed off from her usual kindness. “I just thought I’d warn you.” She went to leave, but she turned back at the last moment. “Oh, and I didn’t touch your precious shirt.” Her eyes stabbed at my wardrobe. “In case you were wondering.”

I sighed, feeling a war of emotions in my heart. The first was despair. I didn’t want Lucy to be mad at me; she was the only person I had, really. We’d rarely ever fought before, and any time we had, we’d resolved it within hours. This was the longest we’d gone being angry at each other.

The next emotion was anger. How could she not understand why I didn’t want her to touch my clothes? Didn’t she understand that I’d never owned, truly owned, anything, and that that made these things special? Why did she have to ruin everything?

Finally, there was guilt and regret. I knew I shouldn’t have snapped at her, and that any explanation probably wouldn’t justify it. After all, I was her older sister. Wasn’t I _supposed_ to share everything I had with her?

Opening my closet, I looked at the shirt. It didn’t really stand out against all the other clothes I had, but I could immediately pick it out. I reached out and caressed the soft fabric.

I was ashamed, then. How could I have gotten so selfish? I slipped it over my head, then buttoned up another shirt over it. Creeping down the hallway, I stopped in front of Lucy’s room. I knocked.

“What?” Lucy’s voice came through the door. She still sounded angry.

“I’m sorry. I was wondering if you...if you wanted to see it?”

Silence. I was about to walk away when she opened the door. “I...come in.” She stepped aside, and I slipped into her room, closing the door behind me. I unbuttoned the shirt and let it fall to the floor. Lucy gasped and stepped in closer. “Wow! It really is beautiful, Levy.” Her eyes drifted over the fabric. “But...why?”

I shook my head. “I was just being selfish before. I should have let you touch it, Lu. I’m sorry.” I took her hand and placed it over my chest. “See how soft it is?”

She sighed, and stepped in closer to give me a hug. “I hate it when we fight.”

“Me too.”

Her fingers lingered on the fabric around my hips, and I fought to control the envious feelings welling in my chest. “So...we’re still going shopping on Saturday?”

“Yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”

It wasn’t long before I was back in my own room, feeling much better than before. Sleep came to me easily, and I relaxed, comforted that everything was going to be okay.

 

The next day – Friday – passed by in a blur. Gajeel was still wearing his glasses, perched on the bridge of his nose like a wise owl on a tiny branch. I had to admit that they were growing on me. He looked...dare I say it...cute.

He met me in the library immediately after school.

“You ready to go?”

“Go? But-”

“Come on, one of my friends is meeting us at the ice cream parlour.”

“What about our homework?” I stuttered as he grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the front doors.

“Tch. Don’t worry about it.”

I pulled my hand out of his grasp and pulled my jacket on, getting some strange looks from the lingering students.

We were out on the road in no time, the wind whipping past us. The ice cream parlour Gajeel had been talking about was a small diner that happened to specialise in milkshakes. Gray was standing in front of the diner with a blue-haired young woman.

“Oh, you’re here!” The woman said. Her gaze shifted to me. “And who’s this?”

“This is Levy. She’s helping me with my homework. I told you about her, remember?”

“Oh?” She looked me over, then narrowed her eyes at me. She shuffled closer to Gray, clutching his arm. “This is _my_ boyfriend.”

I was shocked. “Uh...oh...I see...”

Gajeel sniffed in amusement. “Gray’s not your boyfriend, Julia. And anyway, she’s not interested in him.”

Julia glared at me anyway. I raised my eyebrows. “Julia? This is your sister?”

“Yeah.” He draped an arm over her shoulders. “Pretty, right?”

“I..I guess, yeah.”

He smiled at me. “Oh, and this is-”

“I know Gray. He’s Lucy’s friend.” I turned and smiled brightly at him. “How are you? Have you seen Natsu and Erza recently?”

“Yeah, we’re all good. How are you doing?”

“Alright.” I looked up at the diner. “Did you want to go in? It’s pretty hot out here.” Both Gajeel and Julia looked shocked at our interaction, so I led Gajeel in by pushing his shoulder. “Come on.”

When we were seated, a waitress came over and took our orders. It was a nice place, with blue trim on practically everything, and a deep red theme for the seats and counters. There were a few other people in the diner as well, all sipping milkshakes, eating chips and scoops of ice cream.

 

It was a pleasant afternoon and, when we’d finished, Gray invited us back to his place. Julia looked like she was going to faint.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll meet you there.”

We watched Gray and Julia get into his car and drive off. When we were alone, Gajeel turned to me. “Didn’t know you knew anyone outside of me and those two guys you hang out with all the time.”

I shrugged. “Lucy sometimes lets me hang out with her friends. They’re all really nice.”

He looked down at me for a moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he got out my helmet and handed it to me, putting his own on, then straddling the bike, waiting for me to get on behind him.

Gray’s house wasn’t too far away, and it was...basically exactly what I’d expected of him. The outside was a pristine, frosty white, while the inside was a motley of deep blues and even deeper blacks. It was like stepping underwater. In the living room, there was a rack of weights on one wall, an aquarium adjacent to it, and a television opposite. In the middle of the room was a couch, big enough to seat five people.

Just as we were getting settled, a young man with bleached-white hair emerged from one of the doors. Gray introduced him as his brother, Lyon. He sniffed indignantly, but still joined us.

“So, what are we watching this time?” He asked, looking at Gajeel, who shrugged.

“Taking turns is boring. But...maybe we should let Levy decide?”

“W...what? Me?”

“Yeah. What do you want to watch?”

I looked in shock at the four faces around me. Gajeel’s pierced and harsh face with a small smirk, Julia’s blank but penetrating gaze staring out from her wide, blue eyes, Gray’s soft, friendly smile and Lyon’s indifferent, impassive face. “I thought we were supposed to be doing homework.”

Gray laughed heartily. “It’s a Friday. We never do our homework on Friday. If you’re going to keep hanging out with us, you’re going to have to choose a movie at some point.”

My mind reeled. _Keep…_

“Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen her like this before.” Gray’s shape looked up at the blob that could be Gajeel. “Have you?”

It shrugged. Gajeel’s voice came from it. “You’ve apparently known her longer than I have.”

Julia’s voice came from the darkness, somewhere off to my left. “She’s fainted. She’ll be fine in a few minutes. You can tell she’s already waking up.”

 _Fainted? Did I really faint?_ I tried to sit up, but my limbs felt too heavy, and my head was swimming. My world tilted as strong arms gripped my shoulders and pulled me into a seated position. A muscled chest was pushed against my back, and I let my head fall against their shoulder.

“Just don’t throw up, okay?” Gajeel’s voice rumbled in his chest, sending vibrations through my body. It was nice; his heat, and the steady, strong rhythm of his breathing. Up and down, up and down, in and out, in and out. I matched breaths with him, and felt myself becoming sleepy.

My eyelids drooped, and my limbs grew heavy. It wasn’t long before I was asleep.

 

I woke up in someone else’s bed. Sitting up slowly, I gazed around dazedly.

“Oh, you’re up.” Lyon said, his voice much gentler than it had been. His hand, which was ice cold, went over my forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever or anything. Are you feeling better?”

“I was just sleepy, I think.” I sat up, feeling refreshed. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

Lyon shrugged and turned back to what he’d been doing. “Gajeel asked me to take care of you. He’s not really someone you say no to. Besides,” he looked back and smiled at me. “You’re pretty cute.”

I could feel my face go red. Lyon laughed, packing away his book and pencils. “Anyway, now you’re feeling better, I should take you home.”

“Thanks.” I got out of the bed and slipped my shoes and socks on, which had been placed neatly at the end of the bed. I wondered at how much these people cared for me, even though they barely knew me.

A wave of sadness followed; how could almost complete strangers care more about me than my own parents?

Lyon’s hand gripped my shoulder, squeezing gently. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

 

The car ride home was completely silent. Lyon seemed content with it, but it made me squirm. I could only think about how strange they must have found me fainting, about how they must feel as though I was a burden, about how I was probably never going to see them again because-

“Levy?”

I startled and looked out of the window. We were at my house. “Oh, right. Sorry. Just day dreaming.” I hastily opened the door, but Lyon’s hand stopped me.

“I know Gajeel’s worried about you, and meeting you, I know why. Are you okay?”

I stopped and smiled sadly. “Yeah. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Those are two very contradictory statements.” I looked back at him, and saw a wide grin on his face. “Just take care of yourself, alright?”

I looked down at my hands. “Okay.”

“Hey,” my gaze shifted to him. “Promise?”

“Promise.”


	3. Life Is Like A Movie (So Pile On The Angst)

Saturday blew by in a breeze. Lucy wouldn’t stop asking me questions, bouncing around the stores, exclaiming that everything we’d done so far was cute and unbelievably romantic, despite my constant reminders that we weren’t actually going out, maybe.

When we had gotten home, she had herded me into her room, taking all the things we’d bought and theatrically throwing them all out, a few seconds seperating each projectile. “Aw! Now that I have these all home, they all look terrible! You take them, Levy.”

I wasn’t even sure if mum and dad were home, but if at least one staff member had heard it, there would be no probing later. When we heard no commotion, we turned to each other and giggled.

Then, Lucy was waving her hands at me. “Now, shoo!” She said playfully. “You’re no longer the only one going on dates.”

I was only marginally surprised. “For the last time, we’re not going on dates, Lu.” Even as I protested, she was shoving me towards the door. I sighed, taking control as I stepped over the threshold. “Be safe, and tell me all about it when you get back.”

Lucy blushed, nodded, and quickly closed the door.

 _Well, that’s odd,_ I thought, but eventually shrugged my shoulders and made my way downstairs.

The chef was a new one; Max and mum had had some argument which had resulted in him being fired. I was sad to see him go, but it was hardly an uncommon occurrence. The new chef looked to be even more likely to be short-lived; not only was he kind, he was charming, good-looking and relatively young, which meant that my mother would be all over him. If dad found out about any affairs, or mum grew bored of him, it would be the door he was shown instead of the gratitude he _really_ deserved.

He winked at me as I entered. “What can I get for you, little princess?” I blushed at the nickname he’d given myself and Lucy. Thank goodness my parents hadn’t heard him call me that.

I shrugged, sitting on the stool by the door. “I was hoping to talk.”

“Ah, Lucy not in the mood for chatter?” His long hair, which was dyed bright green, was tied behind his head in a single, luxurious pony-tail that reached all the way down to his hips, a chef’s hat balanced precariously on his head. His thin shoulders barely filled out the uniform he wore, and his pale face was flushed from the heat of the stove and oven.

“No.” I pulled a tray piled high with cookies towards myself. “She’s got a date tonight.”

He raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “Oh? With whom?”

I shook my head, using my index finger to push the cookies around on the tray. “She wouldn’t tell me. She just got bright red and closed the door in my face.”

Freed – for that was the chef’s name – hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s Natsu.” He mused, and I felt my eyes widen.

“What? No way! He’s too young!”

He chuckled. “You haven’t seen the way he looks at her. _He_ definitely likes _her_.” He turned back to the pot he’d been stirring. “I’d have thought you would have noticed; he wasn’t exactly shy about staring at her.”

I thought back to all the times I’d been with Lucy and her group of friends, but I couldn’t think of a single instance I’d call Natsu showing interest. I shook my head. “No, you must be imagining it.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Would you mind helping?”

“Not at all. What can I do?”

I helped Freed in the kitchen, laughing at his jokes and having a good time. Max had been pretty similar, but he’d never asked me to help; I would just sit in the corner, watching him work. Freed let me cut up vegetables, stir pots and smooth out batters for mum’s fund raisers that she hosted every other day.

Finally, after my feet were aching and my fingers were wrinkled from washing the dirty dishes, I said goodnight and went off to bed. The bathroom on our floor was past Lucy’s room, and behind her door, I heard the telltale sounds of crying drifting into the hallway. Frowning, I knocked lightly on her door.

“Lucy? Everything okay?”

I heard her heavy, halting footsteps come to the door, which swung inwards slowly. Her face was red, her eyes puffy and irritated, her shoulders shaking slightly. Her arms came around me, pulling me close. “Oh, Levy,” she sighed into my neck, squeezing. “I was such an idiot.”

“What happened?” I asked, smoothing my hands down her back, trying my best to comfort her.

“He didn’t want a date. He took me to some abandoned house and scared me. Told me there were ghosts, and then popped out in random places! Oh, Levy, it was awful!”

I hugged her closer, fingers kneading the flesh at the small of her back. “It’ll be alright. I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm. Maybe he misunderstood your intentions?”

Lucy hesitated, but eventually nodded. “I suppose that’s to be expected; Natsu’s not very bright.” She stiffened, her face turning bright red. “Oh! I-”

I chuckled. “So, Freed was right after all.” I led her to her bed, sitting her down gently. “Lu, I think he probably just wanted to hang out. Freed said...” I bit my lip, unsure if I should divulge the information, but I figured she needed all the hope she could get. “He said that Natsu _does_ like you, I think he just doesn’t know how to express it yet. Give him some time. He’s only young.” I sat next to her, draping an arm over her shoulders. “Do you like him?”

Lucy was silent for a while, thinking about it. “I don’t know, really.” She said eventually. “I guess I just got carried away when Miss Strauss pointed out how well we get on, and said we’d be a cute couple.” She sighed heavily. “Thanks for talking, Levy.”

“That’s alright. You should get some sleep.”

Her eyes slipped closed for a few moments before she blinked them open again, smiling sleepily at me. “Yeah, I will. Thanks.”

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

I turned her light off as I left, stepping as quietly as I could to the bathroom, getting ready for bed, then creeping back to my own room.

 

Sunday, as well as Monday through to Thursday were pretty uneventful. The weekend was spent doing the homework I hadn’t had time to complete, and the weekdays were spent in class, then at lunch with Jet and Droy – despite inviting him and insisting he would be welcomed, Gajeel refused to sit with me – followed by more classes, ending in more time spent with Gajeel, doing our homework, usually at a restaurant while we waited for our food to arrive.

When Friday came around, though, I had a very interesting conversation with Gajeel. We were studying in the library this time, as I’d brought a dinner that Freed and I had made to share with Gajeel after being very impressed with my descriptions of him.

 _Keep him close, princess; he'll be a good one. Whether that ends up being just friends or something more, he'll be good to you._ He'd said as I'd finished telling him about the whole shirt incident.

The dinner was a multi-layered bento that had been kept warm by a small system that Freed himself had invented, which used thin pipes to transport hot water around the box. Inside, there was curried chicken with rice, sauteed vegetables and beef, and a separate box with two pieces of chocolate cake.

“Your chef made all this?” Gajeel asked, surprised.

My cheeks heated. “W...well, I helped. Cut the vegetables and made the cake.”

His eyebrows raised. “You have a chef, and yet you still cook?”

I shifted uncomfortably in the chair. His eyes were so intense sometimes. “I like to help. Besides, Freed is really nice. We talk while I help. He used to fence before he came to work for us, but he doesn’t have the time anymore.”

“How long does he work for?” Gajeel asked with a frown.

I sighed, putting my chopsticks down. “Basically all day. He hardly gets any time off. Mum’s really into charities; doing bake sales and hosting dinners with people she pretends to like for causes she pretends to care about. Not that I’ve ever said anything to her about it.” I looked down at the bento sadly. “She’s probably using it all as a front for her affairs, anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s sleeping with everyone on her guest lists.”

Gajeel’s hand brushed mine, then reached past for the layer containing the curry. As he shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth, he said something I had trouble comprehending. “There’s a party on next week, Saturday night. You should come with me, wear that top I bought you.”

“A...a party? What kind of party?”

He shrugged. “A party. You know, loud music, teenagers, alcohol. Fun.”

“Do you even _have_ fun?” I asked, thinking he was joking. _Me, at a party? Is he crazy?_

His eyes narrowed. “Just because I have a scary face doesn’t mean I don’t have fun. I would be hard pressed to find anything I know _you_ do to be fun.” He flicked one of his books for emphasis. “Homework is definitely not fun, and reading books hardly counts.”

“What about going on your bike?”

“What about it?”

My face heated again, worse than last time. I had spoken without thinking – being on the back of Gajeel’s bike was still probably the most fun I’d ever had. It was certainly the most freeing experience I’d ever had. A low chuckle started in Gajeel’s throat, turning quickly into a full-on roar of laughter. I glanced up at him, surprised.

“You had to get over your fear of the bike before you liked it, right?” He asked when he’d stopped laughing. “It’ll be the same with everything else. You’ve been taught to live in a shell, away from other people, doing everything proper – and it’s never been enough. Do you know why?”

I shook my head, mesmerised.

“Because it hasn’t been enough for _you_. You would never have been content to just sit around and do what everyone else wanted you to. It’s why you’re rebelling so hard. You need to try new things, Levy.”

I gaped, my mouth hanging wide open. Eventually, I was able to gather my thoughts. “That was quite the speech. I didn’t even know you knew such big words.”

Gajeel’s expression turned immediately sour. “Whatever.” He grumbled. “Do whatever you want, I just thought you might like to come.” He said it in a pissed-off tone, but I could see the edge of a smile on his lips.

“I’ll think about it.” I told him.

He blinked at me for a few moments before smiling. “Okay. Well, if you do want to, just text me, and I’ll come get you.”

“I will.”

 

On Saturday, Gajeel offered to come and get me so that we could go and watch a movie with Gray, Lyon and Julia again. I agreed, almost jumping for joy. I had never been to the movies before, and was nervous about it, but I knew nothing would happen with Gajeel at my side.

He showed up, along with Lyon and Gray, but we had to stop off and get Julia and one of her friends before we could go to the movies.

“So what are we watching?” I asked as we pulled away from my house.

“We usually decide when we’re there, but I think we should probably leave the decision-making to someone else today; don’t want a repeat of last week." Gray said in a playful tone, but it still embarrassed me. I blushed so much, I could feel the heat in the tips of my ears, while everyone else laughed.

It didn’t take long to get to the place where Julia was, and she was standing out front with a red-haired girl around our age, who was wearing a bright pink, frilly dress, high-heels and a ghastly shade of lipstick. I had to squish in close to Gray, who was sitting next to me, in order for the new arrivals to fit. When she saw me, Julia narrowed her eyes, as if she still wasn't quite sure what to make of me, but it turned into a glare when she saw how close I was sitting to Gray. Her mood didn’t improve when her friend, who was introduced to me as Sherry, started mooning over Lyon, spouting some nonsense about love.

Needless to say, the car ride was very uncomfortable, at least for me. All of that was brushed aside when I saw the theatre. I had only been to one theatre before; I had been invited to attend a play just last summer, by name, by an eligible young man and my parents, seeing an opportunity, had dressed me up in the best outfit they could find and fussed over every small detail, hoping to get a good marriage out of me at least. I had tried to detest the experience, but it was hard when everything shimmered and gleamed under the lights, and the staff were endlessly kind, and the other guests were so pretty, and the performance itself was excellent.

“Levy?” Gray said from behind me, and I realised I’d stopped in the doorway to the car, barring his passage. Face flushing again, I apologised and stepped quickly out of the way. Even though I tried to keep my eyes on the ground, I caught a glimpse of Lyon’s expression, which was a light frown. As we walked in, he fell into step beside me, Sherry clinging to his other arm.

“Why did you stop like that?”

“I’ve never been here before. Are all movie theatres so big?”

He blinked at me, confused. “Haven’t you ever been before?”

I shook my head, still amazed at the size. I was so lost in my awe that I almost walked into Gajeel, who had stopped to stand in line at the ticket desk. He turned and smiled at me. “Come stand next to me,” he said softly, stepping to the side. I did as he asked, and a huge grin spread across his face. “Lyon hates it when he’s left alone with Sherry. Well, he secretly likes it, but he’s playing hard to get.” He lowered his voice even further. “Don’t tell him I told you, but he’s actually had a crush on her since fifth grade.”

I covered my mouth with my hand to smother a laugh. “That’s so sweet.” I whispered. My eyes drifted over to Gray and Julia. She was standing as close as possible, speaking to him quietly and looking up at him with wide, glassy eyes. “Your sister seems really into Gray.”

Gajeel’s eyes flicked over to them as well, then he snorted. “Yeah. She’s been all over him since third grade, which was when we all met. Gray was already here, but we had to move because...” He trailed off, his eyes flicking over to Julia again, shaking his head. “She’ll tell you herself.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” I said, the words coming out without my consent again. My face heated, but Gajeel didn’t seem to take notice of my embarrassment. Instead, he just took a step forward and talked to the teller at the counter. I barely paid attention to what movie we were ordering tickets for.

Once Gray, Julia, Lyon and Sherry had gotten their tickets, we walked into the cinema and found our seats. I was amazed by how big the screen was.

Gajeel sat on my left, Lyon on my right. My attention was too focused to notice anything other than that before images started rolling across the screen, startling me slightly. Gajeel chuckled next to me, but I was too enraptured to do anything but stare in awe.

 

The movie was about two mages who had this forbidden love, because they were both girls. I would have expected that, like at the other theatre, people to cheer when the two girls finally kissed, or when the movie had finished, but everyone stayed silent. I followed suit.

“So,” Lyon said, nudging me as we waited in line to be seated at a restaurant. “What did you think?”

“It was great! I was amazed by how big it was. And, of course, I liked the story. It was sweet how they ended up together, going against their parents’ wishes.”

Lyon smiled at me. “So a good first-time experience?”

“Definitely.” I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, even with Sherry glaring daggers at me.

Gray turned to me, surprise clear on his face. “That was your first time at the movies?” His eyes were wide. “But...Lucy’s come with us so many times...”

I shrugged, feeling my face heat. “Jet and Droy never wanted to see anything, so I just didn’t get the chance, I guess.” It was a lie; they’d asked me on multiple occasions to come with them, but I never had the money, and I didn’t want to burden them with the payment. Somehow, it felt different with Gajeel, though; like it was an honest transaction. In order to get better grades, he helped me with making friends and experiencing new things.

“Oh.” He still looked kind of sad, so I smiled at him.

“It’s alright. I’m just glad I got to experience it.” I looked past him to the menu. Again, I would have enough to buy my own meal, as long as it was only small. Lucy was only able to sneak me so much, and no one else knew. I winced as I looked at the board. The only thing I could afford was a salad.

Gajeel, who had been watching me like a hawk, came over and draped his arm over my shoulders. It felt like a log, it was so heavy. “Order whatever you want, kiddo. I’ve got you.”

“But-”

“No.” He eyed me meaningfully. “Just get something, alright? Can't have you starving and getting any smaller.”

I shrugged his arm off. “I was going to say that I’m not a kid, Gajeel. We’re the same age.”

A small smile touched his eyes, but didn’t make it to the rest of his face. He turned away and shrugged. “Whatever. Kiddo.” He retreated, going back to Gray and Lyon.

I watched them talk while we waited, the familiar stir of envy coiling in my stomach. I could see they’d been friends for years; they laughed and talked openly with each other. Julia was still attached to Gray at the arm, but her eyes followed her older brother, something akin to awe shining in their depths. If that look was anything to go by, she really loved him. Sherry also seemed to be an active part of the group, and I couldn't help but feel like an extra, plonked into a place where no one needed me.

Just as I was about to sneak away to wait them out, Julia’s hand descended onto my shoulder. She stepped closer to me and turned me to face the counter.

“I know you’re not interested in Gray,” was the statement that led the conversation, and I sighed internally, “so I’m willing to extend the hand of friendship. I can tell that Gajeel likes you a lot. He told me he gave you my old jacket.”

My face flushed, and I started to stammer out an apology, but she wasn’t done just yet.

“He also told me that you’ve been helping him with his homework.” She smiled at me, and I was almost surprised to find that she was taller and broader than me. It had seemed, before, that we were the same size. “Thank you for that. I assume that Gajeel told you about Mavis?”

I nodded.

“With her being so sick all the time, we can’t afford to get a tutor for Gajeel.” Her eyes grew sad as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “He tries so hard, but he finds it hard to pay attention in class, and teachers are scared of him. Every time he goes to ask them something, they flinch and, well...you’ve seen how considerate he is. He doesn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable, so he just...tries to get through on his own.”

She sighed softly, lowering her head. “I can’t help him; what he’s doing is above my level of understanding. So thank you for helping him. It took a lot for him to ask you.”

“I had no idea he was struggling so much.”

Julia smiled again, but with more sadness. “He doesn’t talk about it much.”

“He doesn’t talk about anything much.”

She laughed. It was nice; like a gurgling brook. “We should hang out together sometime, Levy. I think we’ll get on really well.” Her face grew serious. “But stay away from Gray; he’s mine.”

“I really have no intention of dating Gray.” I assured her, right before we were seated. She just laughed again.

 

The car was less crowded when we dropped Sherry off, but my house was quite a distance from everyone else, so I got out with Gajeel and Julia so that he could take me home himself, as his bike would use less fuel.

I stared up at the house we'd been dropped off at. It was painted a light blue with lavender and white trim. Both Gajeel and Julia seemed uncomfortable with my staring, so I shook myself out of it.

It took Gajeel a while to find his voice. “I know it’s not anywhere near as nice-”

“Are you kidding me?" I interrupted. I didn't want him to misunderstand. "It’s beautiful. Living in a mansion...feels like you’re living alone. I bet it feels like you’re a real family here.”

Julia and Gajeel shared glances with each other, and I sensed that I’d said something wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. Julia was the one to shake out of her trance first. “Gajeel, you should take her home.” Something in her voice was strained, ready to snap. “I’ll see if mum needs anything.”

“Yeah.” He swallowed, his neck convulsing with it. “Yeah. I’ll see you later.”

 

There was an awkward silence as I got off Gajeel’s bike.

“Gajeel, I-” I started, right as he opened his mouth.

“I guess-”

“Sorry.” We said at the same time.

Another awkward pause. I took a shaky breath, watching Gajeel’s chest rise as he mirrored. “I’m sorry if I said something...insensitive. I didn’t mean...”

Gajeel shook his head sadly. He looked like he was going to say something, then changed his mind. His fingers tugged on the straps of his helmet, shifting its weight in his hands. “I should go.” He pulled the helmet onto his head. “I’ll see you at school on Monday.”

“Okay. See you.” I watched as he backed out of the driveway, my heart sinking, guilt encasing my heart. The sound of his engine starting was almost a slap in the face, but it only really started to hurt when he sped away without even glancing back.


	4. Revelations (But Not Like In The Bible)

When I next saw him, all the awkwardness had drained away from between us. He acted like nothing ever happened. I wanted to ask him about it, but also didn’t want to make him uncomfortable again, so I just kept my mouth shut.

Our studying was quieter than usual, neither of us wanting to break the conversational silence that we’d built up.

By Wednesday, I was getting worried that we were never going to get back to normal, but on Thursday, everything seemed better. He was talking more again, and he was more animated than usual. Finally, I couldn’t keep my curiosity in check any longer.

“What changed? Why are you happier today?”

Gajeel sighed. “I guess I owe you an explanation. I know you might think that-”

“You don’t. I shouldn’t have even asked. I’m sorry.” I wanted to crawl into a hole and never emerge again. Why did I have to make such a fool of myself? “You don’t have to tell me anything.”

His hand closed over mine, but he quickly snatched it away. “Levy, it’s okay. I should have told you before.” He looked away, gazing at the street behind the glass of the window. It was getting late again, the sky fading into darkness.

He heaved a sigh. “My dad’s not coping well with having to take care of Mavis. If he leaves, I’ll have to drop out. I was hoping...” His throat constricted. “I was hoping to finish my education, and we’re asking him to stay the last few months, but none of us would ask him to stay past that.” His head dropped into his hands. I’d never seen him like this, so vulnerable. “We can all see the effect it’s having on him. He’s...”

“I’m sorry, Gajeel.” I said softly. “It must be hard.” My gaze shifted to the books sprawled over the table in front of us. “Is that why you asked me to help you study?”

“Yeah. I want to get the best grades I can. Maybe someone would be more likely to hire me if I...” He shook his head. “Nah, the places I’ve asked all say they don’t want ‘someone like me’ working for them. I guess they mean with all the leather and the motorcycle and everything.”

I frowned. “Well, maybe we can get you some interviews. Lucy and I can help, and I’m sure Erza would have a lot of fun, too.”

He physically recoiled. “No, thanks. I think I’ll take my chances.”

“What? We’re not that bad.”

“I’m sure.” He said, but I wasn’t convinced.

“We’re not! We’d just dress you in a nice suit, and then you just have to be yourself.”

“That’s what I’m saying, Levy. I _am_ being myself, and that’s not what they want.”

I sighed, then called the waiter over.

“Hi, how can I help you?” He said in a cheerful voice with a big smile.

“Yeah, hi, I was just wondering if you had any positions open.”

A strange look passed over his face, and I wondered if he’d overheard our previous conversation. “Well,” he started slowly, tapping the end of his pencil against his pad. “We have some group interviews coming up next week, on Friday afternoon. Do you have a resume with you that I can take?”

“Not with us, but we’ll come by tomorrow with it.” I smiled in what I hoped was a slightly flirtatious way, kicking Gajeel under the table, hoping he would get the hint. Unfortunately, he just continued glaring daggers at me. “This meal is great, by the way. Do you make this?”

The waiter blushed, and there was no way I didn’t feel the temperature in the room drop as Gajeel’s glare shifted from me to him. “Ah, n-no. The-the chef, he m-makes...” His eyes darted to Gajeel’s face, and he paled. “I’ll pass on your compliments.” He stuttered out before taking his leave, scurrying away.

I turned to Gajeel. “What was that?”

“I could ask you the same thing! You can’t just do that!”

“Well,” I snapped, flicking my hair back behind my ear, “maybe I was asking for me.” It wasn’t a complete lie; I had been looking for work for a few months now. It was frustrating never having any money for myself. Even so, if I did get a job, there was no way I wasn’t giving it to Gajeel. He needed the money more than I did.

“Tch!” Gajeel scoffed and turned his head to the side. When he glanced back at me, I was smiling at him, and I saw the flicker of a returning smile which he tried unsuccessfully to hide behind his hand.

“Come on, we still haven’t finished this, and if we’re going to hand in a resume tomorrow, we have to make sure it’s a good one.”

Gajeel’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious. They probably think I’m a serial killer now, with the way I was looking at him!”

I shrugged. “I guess you’re just going to have to make them forget that, aren’t you?”

 

Thursday, Gajeel came to school in a light blue button-down shirt and nice jeans, complete with a belt. The best accessory he wore, though, was the blush that sat high on his cheeks the whole day.

When we met in the library, I knew I had the biggest grin on my face, but I just couldn’t wipe it away. “You ready?”

“I will be if you quit looking at me like that.”

I tried and failed to school my expression. After a few minutes, I gave up, letting it creep back onto my face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Gajeel raised an eyebrow and pushed me playfully. “Oh yeah? Maybe I should leave you here while I apply by myself?”

“No, no! I take it back! I’m sorry, you just look so good.”

He brought out my helmet and passed it to me before fastening on his own. “Really?” I could tell his blush had just deepened, even without seeing his face.

“Yeah, really.” I placed my hand on his chest before he could pull his jacket over his shirt. “It’s really nice, Gajeel.” I fought the temptation to slide my hand up to his shoulders. If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to stop until I had his helmet off and was kissing him. My heart started pounding as I realised just how much I wanted that. How had this crush crept up on me? How had it happened so quickly?

I pulled my hand away and slid onto the bike, pulling the helmet over my head to hide my own blush. “Let’s go.”

Gajeel grunted in agreement, getting on in front of me and waiting until my arms were securely around his waist before starting the engine and speeding towards the restaurant we’d been at last night.

We had the same waiter, and he kept a wide berth, but he had to come to us eventually.

To my surprise and delight, Gajeel took the lead this time. “Hey, sorry about yesterday, man. I was just having a bit of a bad day.” He held out his hand and they shook. “My name’s Gajeel, and this is Levy. We really appreciate you telling us about the interviews. We’ve been looking for a while and, well, it’s not easy.”

“Yeah, I totally get it, man, and it’s all good. We all have bad days. My name’s Toby.” He took our resumes, saying he’d give them to his supervisor. “I’ll put in a good word for you, too.” He leaned closer. “And I’d order the carnivorous burger today; they got the meat fresh today, and they’re always best when it’s fresh.”

“Alright, two of those, then, thanks.”

Toby scribbled the order in his notebook. “Good luck with the homework, guys.”

“Thanks.”

“That was awesome!” I whispered furiously at Gajeel when Toby had left. “Where did that come from?”

He shrugged. “I guess I just really wanted a job.”

I smiled at him. “Well, I’m impressed. But, we still have to get you something nice to wear.”

Gajeel looked scandalised. “This _is_ nice!” He protested, and I shook my head. “ _You said it was nice!_ ” He hissed at me – I sighed.

“Gajeel, I did, and I meant it, but it’s not nice _enough_. Trust me, I’ve sat in on dad’s interviews enough times to know that a button-down and jeans won’t be enough. Just come shopping with Lucy and I on Saturday and we’ll get you a suit.”

“A suit?” His head fell forwards. “I can’t afford one of those, Levy. No matter how much I put away to save. And I need money for-”

“Gajeel, my parents make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. A thousand on a single shopping trip is _cheap_. Last time we went shopping, Lucy was given like, three thousand. Besides, we’d only really need to hire one...” My eyes roved over his frame, and I winced. “Or maybe not.”

“What?”

“You’ll probably be too big...maybe...” I shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”

Gajeel rolled his eyes and folded his arms. “Fine, but if I go shopping with you, you have to come with me to the party.”

I hesitated; I wouldn’t know what to do with myself at a party. I chided myself. Gajeel wouldn’t just abandon me. Surely he would introduce me to people, make sure I didn’t get lost, and he’d get me home before midnight. “Alright, fine.”

He held out his hand. “Shake on it?”

I rolled my eyes, but slapped my hand against his.

 

Friday wasn’t particularly eventful, but that night, I could barely sleep. I’d told Lucy about my deal with Gajeel, and she’d squealed in delight, agreeing immediately.

“I can’t wait to see what he’s like!” She had gushed, pacing the floor of her room. “I bet he’s really sweet, and cute, and...”

I sighed and closed my eyes, willing myself to go to sleep. Thinking about it was not going to help me. I hadn’t told Lucy about the party, which may or may not have been a good idea, but I was committed to go. I wasn’t planning on backing out of my agreement with Gajeel.

Sighing again, I rolled over, cursing myself for worrying so much. The party would be fine; Gajeel would protect me if anything went wrong. And I shouldn’t worry about what Lucy would think. Lucy would probably love him, and if she didn’t...well, what did it matter anyway?

I pushed my face into my pillow and groaned softly. Since when had my life become such a mess? Before Gajeel, I had never had to worry about friends; Jet and Droy had always been enough for me, and I had been enough for them. Now, I was following around this guy I barely knew, hoping he would somehow transform my life.

_Yeah, what an idiot. He probably doesn’t care all that much, anyway. He’s just...what? Am I fooling myself? Is he really helping? Is this what I want?_

I begged my brain to just leave me alone, but it didn’t work; the thoughts – the doubts – swirled in a kaleidoscope of topics. Of course, there were the ones that had become omnipresent since mum had decided I wasn’t worth her time...whenever that had been. But on top of it were other questions; was I letting Jet and Droy down somehow by hanging out with people other than them? Did I owe it to them to tell them I was hanging out with Gajeel and his friends? Why hadn’t I told them about him yet?

Not for the first time, I desperately wished I had sleeping pills. They would have saved me from the many sleepy days that followed sleepless nights – usually before tests and exams.

 

I startled awake when Lucy bounced on the edge of my bed. _When did I fall asleep?_

Her beaming face was mere inches from mine. “Wake up, sleepy head! We’re going shopping!”

Mum had grumbled about us going shopping for the second weekend in a row, but when Lucy had suggested that it would be a great time for her to organise her next fund raiser without interruptions, she’d pounced on the idea. “Just show me what you’ve bought this time!” She’d said, but I knew I wouldn’t be invited to that meeting. Lucy’s hand had squeezed mine under the dining table.

 

Gajeel was already at the mall, waiting where I’d instructed him to, looking distinctly unhappy. His arms were folded, he had deep bags under his eyes and he glowered at everyone who walked past. As I made my way towards him, Lucy stopped in her tracks.

I turned back to look at her. “Lu? What’s wrong?”

“That’s...Gajeel Redfox...” Her gaze darted to me, eyes wide. “You...you realise who that is, right?”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“He assaulted someone.”

My heart stopped. “What? No, that can’t be...true...” Was I sure, though?

“They came to our school because he was expelled from his last one. He was-” Lucy squeaked and lowered her gaze to the ground, going silent.

Gajeel was behind me. Despite what Lucy had said, I felt at ease with him near. Everything in me told me he was safe. I turned to him and smiled brightly, hoping he hadn’t noticed Lucy’s reaction.

“Hey, Gajeel. You ready?”

His expression darkened. “Let’s just get it over with.” His gaze shifted to look at Lucy. It lingered for just a little too long for my liking before he turned on his heel and stalked away.

I shivered, but forced any negative thoughts out of my mind. “He’s a good person,” I told Lucy, but I was really talking to myself. “You’ll see.”

 

We found Gajeel a suit and bought it outright. It was nowhere near the most expensive item we bought. Gajeel’s mood seemed to deepen the longer we spent shopping, to the point where he was making even me nervous. I gave Lucy _the look_ , and she excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving me alone with Gajeel, surrounded by shopping bags.

“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately after she was out of earshot. I wasn’t going to frighten myself into silence.

Gajeel sighed. “I hate this. I hate...” He gestured at the shopping bags, and I felt myself blush. Of course he would be uncomfortable. “Your sister...she was wearing things I _know_ cost more than my rent and the weekly grocery shop. I mean, it’s not so bad with you, at school, because it’s just school. But here, I’m hyper-aware of how much everything costs. It feels like debt.”

His gaze shifted around the storefronts. “A family who lived near us lost their house recently. Couldn’t make rent. The whole street came out to help them pack and take care of the kids while the parents organised where they were going to put all their stuff. They had nowhere else to go. They’re homeless now. I saw them, up near the theatre we went to last weekend. Minus one kid.”

He swallowed, his voice thick. “And yet, here you both are, shopping with more money than I’d ever see in a year. It makes me feel...

“That kid...probably isn’t dead, you know. Or if he is, he’s in a better place than if he’s still alive. There’s a good chance he’s in a foster home or orphanage. Maybe he was taken by traffickers. Maybe someone just decided he’d make a good pet.”

“I’m sorry.” I whispered. I’d had no idea Gajeel’s neighbourhood was so...poor. And poor was the only word for it. Insecure seemed like a sugar-coated version of the truth. It wasn’t brutal; people who were uncaring didn’t come out to help their neighbours move out.

He exhaled, letting out a long, slow breath. “It’s not your fault.” I sensed him closing down. I kept my eyes on the floor.

 

“Do you need us to take you home?” Lucy asked, working hard to keep her voice light. I was grateful for that. Gajeel really was a nice person – everything he’d done while he was with me proved it – but everyone had their bad days.

Despite her efforts, Gajeel only glared at her. I knew why. It was the wrong question to ask, on the wrong day.

I tugged at Lucy’s arm. “He has a bike, remember? He can make it home by himself.”

“R-right. Yeah.” She waved him goodbye shakily. “I hope...I hope I’ll see you again.” I could tell she didn’t mean it.

She turned to walk away, but I lingered. “I’m really sorry today wasn’t so good. I promise I’ll make it up to you at the party.” I caught a glimpse of his smile before it slipped beneath his stony mask. “Tell Julia I said hi.”

“Yeah. I’ll be around at eight to pick you up. Don’t forget to wear that shirt I bought you.”

“Okay.” I had to resist the urge to kiss him. He just looked so sad...I turned away before I did something stupid.

 

“There is absolutely no way I’m letting you go with him again. I mean, he _assaulted someone_ , Levy. And he was _not_ sweet at all.”

I crossed my arms and looked out the window. “Thank you for giving him the benefit of the doubt today, Lu. It really means a lot.”

She fell silent for a few seconds. I could imagine the expression on her face “Are you even listening to what I’m telling you? He punched-”

“If he wanted me to know, he’d tell me. If he thought he was putting me in danger, he’d tell me. If he thought it would help me in any way, he’d tell me. People change. The Gajeel I know would never hurt anyone.”

Lucy sighed. “Fine. But if he hurts you...”

“What? What can you do? Besides, he won’t.”

She hesitated, looking for an answer. Finally, her shoulders slumped. “Whatever.”

It made me smile. If they could only see...they were so much like each other. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves. I needed to get ready for tonight, and I couldn’t be worrying about Gajeel’s past; it was his, and his alone. I had no right to pry.

I turned to Lucy and smiled at her. “Well, I’ve never been to a party before, so...help me with my make-up?”

Lucy smiled with me, but it was more shaky than usual. I could tell that she was worried, but I couldn’t be – not when I knew what I did about Gajeel. She just needed to get to know him better.

In a flurry of shimmering powder and funny smelling liquids, Lucy patted at my face with her fingers and brushes coated in strange substances. I’d never vowed not to wear make-up, but I had found no time for it, in amongst studying, school, looking for work and now helping Gajeel with his homework. Because I’d never really gathered any experience, my skills were somewhat lacking, but Lucy had had plenty of practice, and her hands were steady and confident as they deposited product on my skin.

“Alright, all done!” She said, stepping back to admire her work.

I blinked at my reflection, barely recognising myself. She’d somehow brought my cheekbones higher, made my jaw more pronounced, my lips and eyes bigger. My eyelids were a light blue -to match my hair, I supposed – with a shimmer of gold – to match my shirt. She’d put a light coral colour on my lips and overlayed it with gloss.

“What have you turned me into?” I breathed at the mirror, making it fog.

Lucy pulled on my shoulder to get me to sit back. “Don’t face-plant into the mirror; you’ll mess up your make-up.” She held up a couple of tubes and pillbox-like containers. “Take these with you. Every two hours or so, go to the bathroom and touch up anything you need to.” Upon seeing me make a grab for my backpack, she almost hit me. “Not in _that_! Here.” She pulled out a purse the size of a tub of moisturising cream and shoved the bits and pieces into it. “Take this with you.”

My nerves were at an all-time high. It felt like I was going to one of those dreaded balls that I’d read about. It wouldn’t be long before I was expected to go to whole strings of them. I shuddered. I wanted to stay as far away from those as I could for as long as I could. “What’s the time?” I asked, hoping that it was somehow past eight o’clock, and I would be released from my obligation.

“Oh no!” Lucy exclaimed and pulled me out of the chair. “It’s seven forty!” She fluffed up my hair and told me to close my eyes before spraying something on my face. I coughed while she tugged my shirt off and handed me the yellow one Gajeel had bought me. Finally, she let me alone so I could straighten myself.

I sighed. “Well?”

“Perfect. He’s definitely going to fall for you.”

“I seriously regret telling you about my crush.” I groaned, but she was already leading me down to the front door as quickly and as quietly as possible.

“I’ll cover for you, but just get home before midnight, alright? Mum’ll know something’s up-”

“Yeah, yeah, alright. Can I go now?”

Lucy kissed my cheek. “Of course.” She handed me my jacket and I slipped it on immediately, feeling too exposed. “Have a good time. Be safe. Don’t get too drunk. Don’t let anyone touch you.” She beamed at me and let out a huge breath. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I closed the door behind me.

“That sounded intense.” Gajeel said, getting off his bike. When he looked up at me, he stopped in his tracks. “L-Levy you...” His eyes shifted to just behind me, as if expecting to see the real me there.

I struggled not to laugh. “Yeah, it’s the make-up. Makes me look different.” I wondered if there was enough of it there to hide the fact that I was blushing. “Can we...cane we go? I’m really nervous.”

Gajeel swallowed. He hadn’t taken off his helmet; the straps hung loose around his chin. “Uh...yes...yeah, of course.” He pulled out my helmet and handed it to me, doing his best not to look at me. “Hey, um, not to make you any more nervous or anything, but some of these people are...not the most moral. So, best if you keep to my side, yeah?”

“Wasn’t planning on doing anything else.” I mumbled as I nodded.

“Okay.” I don’t think I’d ever seen him so nervous. He opened a pocket and pulled out two pairs of riding gloves, handing one pair to me. “Tell me if they’re too small and I’ll let them out a little. Julia’s got pretty small hands.”

The gloves fit perfectly. “Thanks, Gajeel.”

He remained silent, but I could imagine the blush on his cheeks. Swinging one leg over, he straddled his bike like always, waiting for me to get on behind him. “Hold on tight.”

 

As we rode to the party, my heart hammered, my stomach fluttered and my brain raced. What was Gajeel talking about when he said his friends ‘weren’t the most moral’? _Were_ they his friends, or just friends of friends?

It seemed like it took too long before we arrived, but as I got off the bike, I wished it had been even longer. There was a thumping sound emanating from behind the closed door, and the lights were dim. It didn’t seem too loud – yet – but the bass had obviously been enhanced; it was already shaking up my internal organs.

Without thinking about it, I pressed myself into Gajeel’s side and clutched his arm. He smiled down at me, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks.

“You okay?” He asked gently. “If you’re not...like, _really_ not, I’ll consider it even. I’ll take you home and it’ll be fine.”

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “Well, I’m still...nervous, but I’m here now. It can’t be that bad, right?”

“Right.” Gajeel walked me to the door, but stopped just before walking in. “Levy...” He hesitated, then again, opened his mouth before stalling yet again. Finally, “you look really nice tonight.”

The urge to kiss him was strong, so strong, but the door opened before either of us could do or say anything else. Someone very obviously drunk stumbled into us. They pulled back, clearly confused, frowning through the haze up at Gajeel. He reached out with the hand that held his beer and patted Gajeel on the shoulder.

“Sr’y, man,” he slurred, wobbling on his feet, “din’t see ya ther...”

Gajeel didn’t look impressed, but he helped the guy to sit on the steps and tipped out the rest of his beer.

“Will he be...okay?” I asked, looking back over my shoulder as we entered the house.

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. C’mon, let me introduce you to some people...”

After going around the party, I’d met so many new people it was overwhelming. Midnight, with their black-and-white hair, threaded with giant purple beads and a young man named Cobra hanging off their arm, enamoured with every word that fell from their black painted lips; Angel with her feathery dress that left nothing to the imagination; Richard with his expensive jewellery and clothes, spouting Buddhist nonsense, mixing it with some random philosophies about love; Totomaru, also with black-and-white hair, who seemed to suffer from near-constant nose bleeds whenever someone took away the patch he wore over the bridge of it; Rogue and Sting, who were all over each other, constantly – so much so it seemed they had no use for breathing whatsoever…

The list went on and on, and I had to sit down. Gajeel had kept to his word, staying by my side all evening, frequently checking if I was okay. When I expressed the need to sit down, he vanished briefly to get me a drink of water. I sipped it and looked around at the party.

It hadn’t been what I was expecting – nowhere near as bad, certainly – but I thought that, just maybe, that wasn’t a good thing.

Finally, something that I’d sort of been expecting happened. A guy I hadn’t been introduced to came over and sat next to me – too close. Gajeel glowered at him, but the guy didn’t get the hint. Instead, he started leaning in to me.

His breath stank of alcohol. “Hey, I know you...you’re from the rich side of town, aren’t you?” His eyes roved over me, and he sniffed, inhaling my scent. He nodded to himself. “You reek of it.” I felt his hand on my knee. I wished Gajeel would do _something_ , but he was just sitting there. It was like a slap in the face when I realised I would have to do something. “Maybe I can-”

“Leave me alone.” I said with much more conviction than I held inside me. I pried his hand off my leg, but he just gripped my hand in a vice-like grip. My heart started to pound. _This is it. This is where my life ends, and the only person who cares will be Lucy._ Another part of my mind argued that that wasn’t true, that Jet and Droy would miss me.

His other hand was moving towards my stomach – and then he was gone.

“She said to leave her alone.” Gajeel growled, shoving the guy away.

“Oh? She yours?”

“No.” Gajeel spat, bristling. “She ain’t anyone’s.” His shift in attitude scared me. I’d never seen him like this.

The other guy seemed to boil over at this. “Then why do you give a fuck what happens to the bitch?” He yelled, spittle flying.

“She said to stop.” Gajeel cracked his knuckles. “You didn’t.”

The guy who’d been ready to feel me up roared in rage – a ring of people had gathered to watch the fight – and squared up. Before I knew what I was doing, I was on my feet, standing between them.

“Stop it!” I shouted, facing Gajeel. It scared me to have either of them at my back right then, but I would have preferred Mr Creepy to whatever had gripped my friend. “Stop it! Let’s go, Gajeel.” I didn’t wait for confirmation, just turned and walked out of the house.

He had followed me like a puppy, right on my heels. He got out our helmets. “You house?”

“No. I-I’m too shaken up to go there. The park.” I was being short with him, terse, tense. I didn’t care. When we got on the bike, I barely wanted to touch him, but I forced myself to do it; he wouldn’t go anywhere until he knew that I was secure.

On the way to the park, there was a whole swirl of questions. _Why? What happened? Why? Why? Why?_

I jumped off the bike and ran, tossing the helmet back to him, trying to get as far away as possible. He had longer legs.

His strong arms wrapped around me from behind. I fought him, screaming, crying. Finally, we sat on the ground, my head cradled against his chest. It felt too right.

“Why?” I croaked out.

“Why what?” His chest vibrated with his voice. It was too soothing.

“Why did you let him...do that? Why did you just sit there?”

Gajeel pulled back from me and looked into my face. I could see no ill intent, just mild confusion. “I would never step in where you didn’t want me to.”

“How did you not see-?”

“I saw...him coming close, talking to you, touching your knee. It didn’t look bad from where I was sitting. I was angry he came over, sure. I was trying to avoid a situation like that by keeping you close. People don’t usually mess with me, but I guess he was too drunk. I couldn’t hear what he said to you, couldn’t hear anything until you said ‘leave me alone’. That’s when I stepped in. Before that...it all seemed fine.”

I let out a deep breath. It made sense. The music would have covered up the conversation, and the hand hadn’t been too high – it would have seemed friendly to an outside eye. Gajeel had been giving me the reigns, allowing me the choice of whether I wanted his touch or not.

I curled back against him, still shaken up. “If anyone ever touches me like that again, assume I want you to step in. Just don’t...start any fights, okay?”

His arms tightened around me. “Okay.”

We sat there for what felt like an age before I felt I could talk again. “Lucy told me...she said you got expelled.” His breath hitched in his throat for a fraction of a second before he let it out again. “I...I know I shouldn’t pry, but...what I saw in there...that’s not you. I know you. That wasn’t you.”

He swallowed, his whole diaphragm moving with it. “I’ve done some things that weren’t so good.” He said simply. The silence stretched out into the night. He wasn’t going to say anything else.

With one final, shuddering breath, I pulled away from him. He smiled at me and rubbed at my cheeks. His thumbs came away from my shin stained with mascara, blush and foundation – all words that had had fundamentally different meanings to me before tonight. He frowned at it and wiped it away on the grass.

“Come on. It won’t do to have you going home looking like that.” He helped me to my feet. “Let’s go back to my place – I’ll get you a clean cloth so you can wash your face.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments; they make my day, and I hope you all have a good one too! :)


End file.
